Konnichiwa!
I’m currently writing this from my hotel room on my second to last day in Japan.
Pictures can’t convey the full beauty of this country — we lucked out and arrived just as the cherry blossoms were in full bloom making it even more magical.
Before going on longer trips like this, I usually try and prep a comprehensive OOO plan.
But, no matter how much I button up before leaving, I still find it hard to disconnect from work when vacation begins.
Anxiety about my to-dos piling up while I’m out usually hits me hard (especially the day before going back to work).
Then I start feeling like maybe I shouldn’t have taken so many days off.
And then I feel bad about feeling bad for taking time off, because I know I should have better work-life balance.
So on this trip, I was determined to avoid that cycle.
Here’s how I ended up successfully doing so:
The biggest thing that helped, though, was keeping in mind how rare it is to have this opportunity to travel with my entire family (my parents, brother, two sisters and brothers-in-law, and my husband).
Remembering that my parents (who are now in their 70s) and the rest of my family won’t be on this earth forever kept me hyper focused on the present.
Plus, it’s healthy to get away — visiting other places and meeting new people always inspires me and serves as a reminder that there’s so much more to life than what you do to make money.
Don’t get me wrong, that’s important too.
But if I look back on this trip 10, 15, 20 years from now, am I going to remember how I stayed up working late on a campaign, or the time my sisters and I belted NSYNC’s “It’s gonna be me” (pronounced MAY, btw) at a karaoke bar in Tokyo?
Am I going to remember all the emails that came in, or walking through the most breathtaking parts of Kyoto and eating traditional Japanese cuisines with my favorite people?
Life is short. Your parents get old. You’re not guaranteed a tomorrow.
Take the vacation and PTO you’ve been sitting on just because the timing doesn’t feel right with your work projects — I promise it’ll be there when you get back.

Joanna Ericta (Co-founder of TA)
P.S. If you’re curious about where I traveled in Japan, here’s a map (we did a guided tour for 7 days, and had 3 days on our own in Tokyo). If you’re planning to visit in the future, feel free to reply to this email and ask me for the deets 🙂.